Get involved
I live in Cumberland County and pay taxes there. In my development there are many retired LEO's and firefighters from major metropolitian areas. Most have been through the transitions from workable VHF/UHF systems that work to the hodge podge alphabet soup that is being thrown out.
Whoever can take a commissioner to more lunches, cruises, outings....(think Schamburg), will have an edge.
Now days, nobody wants to get involved.....Sad!
Maybe it's time for you to get involved. You're a taxpayer, it's your taxes.
Looking at the database, I see the current system is VHF. I'm guessing it's been used for 30+ years.
Start by having the county just change the coax and antenna on the current system.
Any ham will tell you that you need to swap out your feedline every ten years or so.
Old coax will leak rf like a sprinkler hose.
If the same feedline has been up there for twenty or thirty years, there's your range and "spotty" problem.
Swapping out the feedline and coax will cost under $5K. A new system is going to cost millions.
Which option do you think the radio vendor is pushing?
Radio vendors love old lossy coax. They make millions every year off it.
They know what the issue is with poor coverage but they will never tell you because it's a cheap fix.
At least try hard to at least keep them on VHF.
The difference between VHF and UHF in the hills and valleys is appreciable.
This is why you don't see Moto hawking 800 systems in the Appalachians.
They know it won't work well.
And why when a Kenwood or Icom vendor comes in hawking digital, they keep it on VHF.
Go ahead and knock up a little letter based off what I've posted here, and send it to the commissioners or the local paper. Like chicken soup, it couldn't hurt.
